


Label (Free)

by tsumekakusu



Series: 100 Days of AUs [11]
Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Comfort, Established Relationship, Fluff, Implied Misgendering, Lots of dialogue, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-02
Updated: 2020-06-02
Packaged: 2021-03-04 01:01:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,640
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24505093
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tsumekakusu/pseuds/tsumekakusu
Summary: “Why are labels so hard to peel off?”
Relationships: Ennoshita Chikara/Tanaka Ryuunosuke
Series: 100 Days of AUs [11]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1589305
Comments: 7
Kudos: 51





	Label (Free)

**Author's Note:**

> Happy Pride Month! I know the world is still in turmoil, but if this fic can bring a smile to your face, then I consider one mission cleared. <3

Chikara sighs, scrolling through his Facebook feed. 

“What’s got you down, Chikara?” Ryuu walks in from the kitchen, holding a glass jar in his hand. He frowns as he checks the bottom for any cracks. 

“I hate labels,” Chikara scowls, setting down his phone. He pats the empty couch cushion next to him, and smiles as his boyfriend lays across his legs. 

“Yeah, I hate labels, too,” Ryuu pouts as he tries to carefully peel the stubborn label from the bottom of the jar. “Dammit, why does it always leave the weird sticky stuff behind!” 

Chikara stares for a moment. He huffs out a snicker, before falling into full blown laughter. 

“What?” Ryuu fakes a glare until his gaze falls on the phone still lying on the table. His eyes flicker over the various comments from their college classmates, for Chikara’s most recent photo posted on their three year anniversary. He frowns. “You weren’t talking about price labels, were you?” 

“Nope,” Chikara breathes out, finally calm enough to answer. “Although those are stubborn, too.”

Ryuu sets down the jar. He slowly sits up and wraps his arms around Chikara’s waist. “Is this about last week’s picture?” 

“Hmmm, I wonder how you came to that conclusion?” Chikara chuckles, laying his head on Ryuu’s shoulder. 

Ryuu sighs. “I don’t get why we have to share our pronouns when no one even listens.” 

“Mmm,” Chikara hums, closing his eyes. He nuzzles his nose against his boyfriend’s neck, smirking when he hears Ryuu gasp. 

“Ah- people need to stop putting labels on everything,” Ryuu agrees, shuddering as Chikara trails kisses along his collarbone. 

“Labels aren’t what’s bad. It’s when people assume things, is when things go downhill.” 

“Yeah,” Ryuu mutters, “if only... that’s it!” 

Chikara’s eyes fly open at his shout. “What?” 

“I’ll be right back!” 

Chikara reluctantly pulls back as Ryuu speeds off to their room.  _ I should’ve expected this.  _ He can’t say he isn’t disappointed, but he’d been looking forward to a nice, relaxing day with his boyfriend on the couch. 

“Got it!” Ryuu runs back in with two markers and a roll of name tags.

“What’re those for?” Chikara asks, confused. He doesn’t ask about the name tags.  _ Noya probably snuck them in his backpack. I’ve found weirder things in there.  _

“We’re going to free each other from unwanted labels!” Ryuu exclaims, handing a pen and half the roll of nametags to Chikara. 

“What?” Chikara mutters, but he takes the offered pen and paper. 

“We’re going to...” Ryuu trails off. “Huh. That sounded better in my head.” 

Chikara chuckles. “Might as well go along with your genius plan,” he smiles up at Ryuu. 

“Y-Yeah.”

His smile widens as Ryuu turns to hide his blush. Even after dating for so long, Ryuu never loses his bashfulness.  _ And Chikara loves it.  _

He glances down at the pen in his hand, absentmindedly twirling it between his fingers. He looks over at Ryuu where he’s kneeling next to the table, pen already uncapped and writing furiously on his third name tag.  _ Click. Click click click.  _ He’s been called so many things, so many unwanted labels, so many days spent in denial, he’s not sure where to start. Ryuu knows most of them, has heard more than half of them being yelled at him, but suddenly-  _ He’s scared _ . He feels like he’s back in high school, when he was in denial about everything that made up who he is, when he trusted no one with-

“Calm down, Chikara. You don’t have to write anything if you don’t want to,” Ryuu whispers, peering up at him from his growing stack of labels. His eyes sparkle with concern. 

“I’m- Okay,” Chikara lets out a long breath.  _ Click.  _

He quickly writes down the first word that pops into his mind. Then another. And another. A waterfall of emotion cascades through him, flowing through his hand and out from his pen. 

“Should we...” Ryuu trails off as he caps his pen. 

“What is it, Ryuu?” Chikara mutters softly, seeking out his hand. He grins as Ryuu’s fingers intertwine with his own. 

“Should we include things we  _ want  _ to be called?” Ryuu mutters, playing with his pen cap.

“There’s nothing wrong with choosing what you want to be called,” Chikara nods, before smirking. “Is this a way to make me call you weird pet names?” 

Ryuu smirks back. “Oh shit, you’re a genius.” He lets the cap fall on the table as he hurries to write on a few more name-tags. 

Chikara smirks as he feels a gentle thumb rub along his knuckle.  _ This sap.  _ He feels the tension completely leave his shoulders as he races against his boyfriend to finish first. 

“Done!” Chikara exclaims, squeezing Ryuu’s hand. 

“Aww, no fair!” Ryuu fakes a pout. 

“How many pet names did you write?”

“Less than you, I bet,” Ryuu teases back. 

“So what do we do with these?” Chikara motions toward his stack of name-tags. 

“Oh, um, we stick them on ourselves and we peel off the ones we don’t want and toss them in the garbage!” 

“You totally made that up on the spot, didn’t you?” Chikara laughs, but he stands up when Ryuu tugs on his hand. He reluctantly lets go of his boyfriend's hand and picks up his labels. “What if we stick them on each other?” 

“Huh?”

“Can I stick yours on you?” Chikara asks, holding out his hand. He holds out his stack with the other. 

Ryuu’s eyes widen. “You...” 

He knows it’s more than just an exchange of stickers. He’s never trusted anyone this much before, and he doubts he’ll ever trust anyone like this again. “Do you trust me?” He meets Ryuu’s eyes, smiling at the love and faith reflected in them. 

“I do.” Ryuu hands him his stack of labels, grinning as he gently grabs Chikara’s pile. “I can put these anywhere on you, right?” 

“Just not on my face and under my feet,” Chikara nods, chuckling at Ryuu’s pout. 

“I was gonna put this on your forehead,” Ryuu smirks, holding up a tag. 

Chikara looks up and his face blooms red.  _ Shit.  _

“Awww,  _ babe _ , I thought you didn’t like my pet names?” Ryuu laughs as he smacks the tag on Chikara’s butt. 

“Shit, I forgot to say no ass.” 

“Too late.” 

Chikara smirks as he smacks Ryuu’s butt. “Mmm, revenge is best served hot, am I right,  _ honey _ ?” 

_ Shit.  _ Ryuu goes to counter, but stops. He’d randomly pulled a tag from the stack, and he isn’t sure how to react. His face contorts into a mix of rage and sorrow. 

Chikara looks up at his boyfriend’s sudden hesitation, biting his lip at his expression. 

The next few minutes are spent in silence, with the occasional crinkle of paper as Ryuu’s fist continues to clench harder against his side.  _ Who the fuck  _ dared  _ to call Chikara, the love of my life, such insolent, untrue- _

“Is it time to peel them off yet?” Chikara studies Ryuu’s expression, but doesn’t push him to say anything. 

“Yeah. Let’s take them off one at a time,” Ryuu mutters, already starting to peel one off his arm. “Shit, why’d you put it where I have the most arm hairs?” 

“You said you wanted your arms waxed,” Chikara gives him a small smile. 

“I’m gonna have a nametag-sized wax after this,” Ryuu groans as he peels a tag from his calf. 

“Better than a weird sunburn,” Chikara chuckles as he peels a label from the bottom of his shorts. He feels oddly lighter with each label he removes. 

“That’s only because you refused to put sunblock on my back,” Ryuu continues to rip off each label, crushing it in his hand before throwing it in the growing pile of crumpled name tags on the floor. He snorts at the carefully folded tags on Chikara’s side. 

“That’s  _ after  _ you refused to get in the shade for me to put sunblock on for you,” Chikara huffs as he speeds up to follow Ryuu’s quickening pace. 

“I needed to beat the fucker who thought it was okay to flirt with you,” Ryuu seethes at the memory. 

“He wasn’t flirting,” Chikara rolls his eyes.

“He had his eyes on your  _ ass.”  _ Ryuu rips off his last label, only leaving two on his body. One on his butt, and the other over his heart. 

“Well  _ honey,  _ I hope you know that I’ve only got eyes for you,  _ babe, _ ” Chikara laughs, peeling off his last label. Ryuu glances up at the squeeze around his hand and smiles. 

Chikara has five labels left on his body. One on his butt, one on each side of his chest, one on his shoulder, and another on his thigh. 

“I knew you had more than me,  _ my prince _ ,” his smirk widens as Chikara blooms all the way down his neck. 

“I’m gonna regret this aren’t I?” Chikara mutters, glancing down at the tags still covering his body. 

“Nope. Not with me here,” Ryuu gently cups Chikara’s cheek and kisses him on the forehead. “Damn, I really wanted to put one on your forehead.” He glances down at each tag, smile widening at the stickers on each side of his chest. 

“Too bad,” Chikara mutters, wrapping his arms around his boyfriend’s neck. 

“Love you too,” Ryuu tugs Chikara closer with his hands around his waist. 

“Mmm, love you,” Chikara snuggles closer, giggling as Ryuu trails kisses down his jaw. 

~~~~~~~~~~

“Morning, Ryuu,” Chikara strides in with a confident smile. 

“Morning, babe,” Ryuu mutters, glancing up from the waffle maker. His eyes widen as he notices a familiar sticker on Chikara’s forehead, but he easily relaxes with a soft smile. “How’s your morning, princess?” 

“Better, now that you’re here,” Chikara smiles, bumping shoulders with Ryuu. “Are those chocolate waffles?” 

“Only the best for you.” Ryuu leans closer to kiss her on the cheek. 

**Author's Note:**

> Ryuu is a lot more perceptive than people make him out to be?? And Chikara deserves so much love <3 
> 
> Just some honest thoughts about labels and societal views. I’m all for being able to choose how you identify yourself, and also support people who choose not to go by any labels. It’s the freedom to choose that counts.
> 
> (Disclaimer: I do not own Haikyuu!! or any associated characters! Thanks so much for reading!!! ^o^)


End file.
